Let the Good Times ROLL!

NATIONAL PARKS ACROSS USA -
Since September 28, 06, we have seen the following National Parks:
Badlands National Park – South Dakota
Big Bend National Park - Texas
Crater Lake National Park – Oregon
Great Smoky Mountains National Park – North Carolina
Mount Rainier - Washington
Mount Rushmore National Memorial – South Dakota
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument - Washington
Redwoods National Park - California
Saguaro National Park - Arizona
Sequoia National Park - California
Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming
Yosemite National Park – California
National Parks and/or Monuments seen on previous vacations:
Jefferson Expansion National Memorial – St. Louis, Missouri
Lincoln Memorial & Washington Monument - DC
Everglades National Park – Florida
Grand Canyon National Park - Arizona
Haleakala National Park - Hawaii
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park – Hawaii
U.S.S. Arizona Memorial – Hawaii
National Parks we hope to see:
Death Valley National Park - California
Mesa Verde National Park – Colorado
Carlsbad Caverns National Park – New Mexico
Bryce Canyon National Park – Utah
Arches National Park – Utah
Canyonlands National Park – Utah
Zion National Park - Utah
Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
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Gladys VA (Lynchburg)

Sunday, August 30 - Beautiful sunny day as we depart from Club @ Lake Gaston in Gasburg VA to travel to Thousand Trails Lynchburg Preserve in Gladys VA. Actually Gladys is near Rustburg and a more popular location at Lynchburg. We took time last year to visit Lynchburg and it has a lot of history and a great museum.

Puffy clouds adorn the sunny skies and looks like cooler weather. We passed through small historical looking towns, passed through some hilly and low valley areas on Rt. 40. Good two-lane road turned onto Red Hill (Patrick Henry) Road. Nearby Red Hill is the Patrick Henry National Memorial in Charlotte County, Virginia near the Town of Brookneal. It honors Patrick Henry, the fiery legislator and orator of the American Revolution. Henry's law office and grave are preserved at his small Red Hill plantation, along with a reconstruction of his last home. The Red Hill Road turned into a very narrow and hilly road and not made for the RV. Good thing no one was coming in the opposite direction. We saw a lot of farms or mobile homes on five acre lots, some in disrepair and some with nice landscaping. A lot of homes were built in the colonial revival architecture with strong columns on porches.

We arrived by 10:15 am (short trip) and started looking for a satellite-friendly site. The site we had last year was taken and the fellow said he was paid seasonally and leaving in October. It is becoming a real hassle for full-timers with big rigs to find sat-friendly sites that are not taken by six-month members. Ray convinced me to try getting satellite at a beautiful location close to the large lake below. 09 02 09 Lynchburg TT and area We are surrounded by trees, but there is a clearing in the southwest direction. We backed into the site, plugged into electric and started the satellite location process. Within 20 minutes we were locked into satellite and started our housekeeping chores to set up. The weather here is 10 degrees cooler and tomorrow we are expecting 60 degree weather during the day. What a remarkable change from the heat and humidity at Lake Gaston.

08 31 09 Lynchburg TT PK VA-5 Our site has many types of trees; some I recognize like the maple and oaks. Plenty of shrubs too. Looking forward to using the grill here as the site has a nice picnic table. Not sure how long the low temperatures will hang around.

09 02 09 MITZY Lynchburg TT and area-6 09 02 09 Lynchburg TT and area-3 Ray fixed up a fire in the pit to roast hot dogs. It was too funny! We left our long stainless steel grilling prongs back home, so he improvised. This is our first ever fire and roasting. The soot and black hot dog didn’t look too appetizing to me, so I took my time cooking the next batch, until the end looked like it was going to drop the dog into the fire. We will come up with something better for next time.

The coastal areas of Virginia and North Carolina through the month of August turned out to be much warmer than we expected. Most days were in the mid 90s and high humidity, just too hot to do much during mid-day. Even riding the Gold Wing was not fun after 10 AM. Our objective is to be in the Smoky Mountains during the month of October connecting up with family and friends to enjoy the fall foliage. So we have scheduled two stops before the mountains. One in Lynchburg, VA and one in Winston-Salem, NC area, both in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Parkway

Lynchburg was a good move with an elevation of 700 to 900 feet which helped lower temps 10-15 degrees. I took advantage of the early morning temps being in the mid 50s and rode the Wing a number of days enjoying the local farm roads and taking photos. There are a lot of old barns and 09 07 09 Smith Mtn Lk SP (Lynchburg VA)-20old farm houses in this area.

Things got rather interesting when I stop on the road still sitting on the bike and trying to line up a photo shot when I hear coming usually from behind me or from the side the growl from a very large dog, maybe a Sheppard, Pit bull, or pincher running at full bore toward me. Not wanting to find out what happens when these fanged creatures reach their target (Me), I vacate promptly. Hence I have learned to leave the bike running. Talk about protecting your territory, OUCH.

09 02 09 Lynchburg TT and area-38My one trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway was great, cool day beautiful clear blue skies. Just a taste of what is to come in Oct. and the Smokies. The parkway’s elevation near Lynchburg maxed out around 2500 ft. I missed the photo of the day, just as I exited a short tunnel a deer was standing on a nice grassy area only 10 ft. away looking straight at me.DSC02412 09 02 09 Lynchburg TT and area-22 09 02 09 Lynchburg TT and area-31 09 02 09 Lynchburg TT and area-34 I was expecting it to bolt hopefully not in front of me, but it just stood there and watched me go by. I watched my mirrors and it was still there. I turned around ASAP and as I expected it was gone. Oh well that photo is in my mind.

Marsha, Mitzy and I drove to Smith Mt. Lake, 50+ miles SW. This lake is very large with mill$$$ homes on the shore line, really a pretty area. Great drive and great scenery at the lake. We enjoyed the outing. The roads were made for cycles, next time I’ll include a ride to Smith Mt Lake.

Tuesday, September 01 - Beautiful morning and 61 degrees. Should be mid-70s today. Plan to ride out bikes and Ray took the Gold Wing out for a nice ride.

Wednesday, September 02 - It was 57 degrees this am. Coach was at 68°. Almost time to use the small portable heater to take the chill off.

Friday, September 04 - A cool 56° and the lake is shrouded in mist rolling across it. 09-04-09 Lynchburg TT Gladys VA Beautiful sight. We went into Lynchburg to shop at Health Nut’s Health food shop (really nice owner who explained I could give Mitzy raw egg in her diet without a problem. He also suggested to give her organ meat cooked to help with Cushing's.)

Saturday, September 05 - We stayed home today working on projects. Warmer than it has been but people are swarming down the hill to the rec center with kids (grandkids) in tow to enjoy the pool. Park is almost filled up here on our Section C ridge. We met a neighbor that is from New Jersey and new to the motor home they purchased. Thinking of going full-time but he is still working. Sandy is retired from teaching school. She is a Sweet Adeline and travels by air quite a bit to be in productions or competition. Herb is an engineer.

Labor Day! Overcast and prediction of rain here in Lynchburg. Enjoying the cooler temps and tomorrow should be high in mid-70s. Ray took the Honda out for a short two-hour ride. These pictures are of a picnic at the pavilion across the lake for a corporation. DSC02632 09-03-09 Lynchburg TT Hydrolite Grandview Lake 09-07-11 09-07-12

Tuesday, September 8 - It rained a slow drizzle last night and the day was cloudy and cool all day long. Drove into Lynchburg to shop at Target and also stopped by Best Buy.

Thursday, September 10 - It is 63° this morning here in Lynchburg. Looking forward to moving to Advance NC and then to Boone NC for October before heading to Florida for the Winter.

Friday, September 11 - Around 9:30 am, we drove to see the Smith Mountain Lake State Park Huddleston, VA. It is about 40 miles from the park and the day was exceptional, with blue skies and lots of sun. Drove through Gladys on Gladys Road (Rt. 699). Gladys is in Campbell County, in the Lynchburg metro area. Once a relay station for mail brought on horseback. The elevation is 781 feet. As we meandered the very narrow road (at times) we saw plenty of soy bean fields about a foot high.09 03 09 Lynchburg va area by bike-2 The road was so twisted and s-curved. I was not a happy camper as I terribly car-sick. We took South 29 through Alta Vista. The new Town of AltaVista was created in 1905 during the construction of the east-west Tidewater Railway between Giles County (on the border with West Virginia) and Sewell's Point in what was at the time Norfolk County. Leesville Lake, seen as we drove through Alta Vista, is a reservoir in Virginia the United States used for Hydro-Electric power generation in conjunction with Smith Mountain Lake as a pump storage project.

We arrived at Smith Mountain Lake State Park and found a beautiful scenic view from all directions once you reach the visitor’s office on the Lake. 09 07 09 Smith Mtn Lk SP (Lynchburg VA)-54 09 07 09 Smith Mtn Lk SP (Lynchburg VA)-29 09 07 09 Smith Mtn Lk SP (Lynchburg VA)-35 09 07 09 Smith Mtn Lk SP (Lynchburg VA)-44 09 07 09 Smith Mtn Lk SP (Lynchburg VA)-49

We saw the RV camp sites during our visit and they are very nicely kept. Large level graveled sites with water and electric, and dump station.

There's nothing better than living along a lake. The water draws us in with its promise of peaceful times and recreational family fun. Precautions have been taken to keep the land in its pristine state. Smith Mountain Lake is known as "the jewel of the Blue Ridge Mountains". The most popular lake in Virginia, it has over 500 foot of shoreline.

Smith Mountain Lake was created to generate electricity, and to help manage water flows downstream and nearby. The damming of the Blackwater and Roanoke Rivers formed Smith Mountain Lake in a filling process that began on September 24, 1963 -- and ended almost 2.5 years later on March 7, 1966. Surrounded by mountains, SML's deepest point is about 250 feet, near the dam itself.

Historical Tobacco Barn still standing within the park. 09 07 09 Smith Mtn Lk SP (Lynchburg VA)-59 09 07 09 Smith Mtn Lk SP (Lynchburg VA)-57

Some other time we would like to visit the surrounding lake communities. Bedford is 20 miles north of the park and Roanoke is 35 miles west.

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FULL TIMING

FULL TIMING? Our first thoughts on such a monumental change of direction in our lives started with the purchase of a 32' Toy Hauler-KZ 5th Wheel early 2006. We took a vacation in May and traveled the mountains of North Carolina. We liked the fact we had our own bed to sleep in and could see surrounding areas either on our Honda Gold Wing or GMC truck. However, during the vacation, we found that the KZ 32' 5th-wheel was entirely too small, even for a long weekend. We wanted to trade up. One thing led to another and we started to question the next three years before Marsha was scheduled to retire.After much soul-searching, prayer, and financial calculations, Marsha requested early retirement for personal and physical reasons.Full timing meant we were saying "goodbye" to all that is familiar. Everything happened so quickly we didn't have time to contemplate that aspect much. We research everything thoroughly before we purchase. This would be our new home and we wanted all the "bells & whistles" within our budget. Lazy Days in Seffner, Florida had a new National, 2006 Tradewinds motorhome available at the right price. It has a 400-HP Turbo diesel engine and many amenities. We did get the "cart before the horse" purchasing the RV before selling our home. It was the worst time of year to sell a home in Florida. We sold with only a month before closing! Thankfully, we had our new "home on wheels" in our back yard for preparation.

It became clear that our personal craving for travel and adventure overcame our requirement for a traditional home with all the things that seemed so important.Getting rid of clutter can be liberating. We did not want to pay for storage. Collectibles such as our Fenton glass, sets of crystal glass, or ceramic pieces were handed over to family members or close friends for their enjoyment. We had a two-day garage sale and anything remaining went to charity. We feel the flexibility and comfort of RV travel far outweighs any pinch felt at the fuel pump. Let the Good Times Roll!